Researchers examining remains from Egypt's royal cemetery at Umm el-Qa'ab have found skull fractures that suggest servants and officials were sacrificed upon the deaths of early Egyptian kings.
The cemetery, located near Abydos, contains tombs and enclosures belonging to First Dynasty rulers dating back approximately 3,000 BC. Court officials and craftspeople serving these early monarchs may have been killed as part of funerary practices, according to the study of skeletal remains recovered from the site.
The fracture patterns on several skulls support a theory first proposed by early Egyptologists about ritualistic sacrifice in ancient Egypt's royal court. The findings add physical evidence to long-standing historical speculation about the practice.